Tour of Duty 7th September 2019 to 8th October 2019
By Train and Plane and the First Night Out
Part I: 7th September 2019

When I got home from my previous Tour of Duty on 28th August I found among the pieces of mail waiting for me a Summons for Jury Duty in Federal Court in Santa Ana, California with a scheduled report date of 16th October. I went online and attempted to get the date postponed to a late December date as that is a slower time for me workwise and at least in theory I would expect to miss out on fewer trips. However I kept getting error messages and finally I got a message I was unable to postpone so I was stuck with the original date. Oh well, at least I tried. After a spell at home I was ready to go on the road and three trips fell through: Texarkana, TX to Phoenix, AZ; Texarkana, TX to Long Beach, CA and Mason City, IA to Salt Lake City, UT. I knew I had a decent amount of time to do numerous trips before I had to get back home so I could be a good citizen and turn up for Jury Duty or rather, make myself available for possible selection on a Jury in Federal Court. I ended up settling on a trip from Andrews, Texas to La Porte, Texas and I got a little creative with how to get to the truck. There was also a church in El Paso, Texas that I was wanting to attend due in part to the fact that a "friend" of mine on Facebook attends that church. I ended up booking an air ticket on WN from SAN to ELP and also booked a train ticket from ANA to SAN. Furthermore the company booked me a rental car from ELP to Odessa, Texas which is the closest drop location to Andrews, Texas.

The time came for me to leave and I got transport to ARTIC the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center where I checked in and checked two bags for the hold, free of charge. The bags were within the weight limit of 50lbs/23kg. There was no security to get on the train.

Amtrak #768 ANA-SAN Pacific Surfliner
Depart ANA: Scheduled 10h34, actual 10h40
Arrive SAN: Scheduled 12h50, actual 12h49
Reclaim checked bags 8 minutes after arrival

I boarded and the train departed Anaheim 6 minutes late. Intermediate stops were made at Santa Ana, Irvine, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Oceanside, Solana Beach and Old Town San Diego. During the trip I visited the Cafe Car and got some midday rations which consisted of a Cheeseburger, Chips and a Soft Drink. The train arrived one minute early to the Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego. After I reclaimed my checked bags I got transport to SAN Lindbergh Field.

Upon arrival at SAN I checked in and checked my bags which weighed 48.0 and 45.5lbs free of charge. I cleared security after a short queue. I opted out and was patted down. My Boot Bag got Secondary Screening and for reason or reasons unknown the swab from the Boot Bag alarmed so all the contents were emptied and sent through the x-ray machine again. The TSA Agent consulted a higher-up officer before I was finally cleared. Total time from beginning of check in to clear of security was 29 minutes.

Southwest #4059 SAN-ELP B-737-700 Boarding Pass A1 Business Select
Seat 3F Cruising altitude 39,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:22, actual 1:22
Depart: Gate 1A Scheduled 15h15, actual 15h13 Taxi/hold: 12 minutes
Arrive: Gate B7 Scheduled 17h55, actual 17h50 Taxi: 3 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 21-23 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway. The plane was not totally full with a load of 120/143. It was announced that there were winds out of the southeast at 5mph and 94F with scattered clouds and popup showers in the area at ELP. Pushback was 2 minutes early. Takeoff was to the west and we were overwater at 1min7sec. I saw Mission Bay, Pacific Beach and La Jolla farther out then we turned south and east. We made landfall at 4min22sec. I saw Imperial Beach, CA, Tijuana, BJ then I saw the San Ysidro Border Crossing as well as the south split between Interstate 5 and 805. Then I saw Otay Mesa and the 2D Toll Road in northern Baja California.

At 0:08 I saw Tecate, CA/BJ and at 0:13 I saw Ocotillo, CA and Interstate 8. At 0:16 I saw Mexicali, BJ. At 0:17 I saw the top of the Gulf of California to the distance. At 0:23 I got cup of soda. At 0:24 I got pretzels. At 0:26 cruise was announced and seatbelt sign went off. At 0:41 we crossed Interstate 10 in Arizona and I saw Picacho Peak. I also saw Tucson to the distant southeast. At 0:44 seatbelt sign went on and it was announced we were going around some weather and we may get bumps. Clouds blocked view below at 0:50 and I felt bumps at 0:56.

I felt descent begin at 0:57 around the AZ/NM line and clouds blocked the view below. Clouds started to break by 1:04 somewhere over the badlands of New Mexico. I saw the Las Floridas Mountains south of Deming, NM at 1:06 and we crossed the Rio Grande at 1:14. We crossed Interstate 10 still over New Mexico airspace at 1:15 and looking south I saw the exit for Anthony, Texas and I saw the Pilot and Flying J Truckstops. We crossed the Franklin Mountains at 1:16 and we crossed US54 at 1:17. I saw what looked to be Fort Bliss and we landed from the north northeast to south southwest and we arrived at gate 5 minutes early. We deplaned via jetway.

After I reclaimed my checked bags I phoned up the shuttle for hotel I had reservation at. The shuttle came and got me and I checked in. I saw a sunset behind some storm clouds. I had evening rations at Lotaburger. When I walked back to the hotel after I ate I saw lightning to the west and northwest and I later learned the storm was over Las Cruces, NM. Arrangements were made for me to be picked up and taken to church for the services the next morning. I spent the night in El Paso, TX.


ELP El Paso International Airport

ELP El Paso International Airport

ELP El Paso International Airport

ELP El Paso International Airport

ELP El Paso International Airport

El Paso, Texas sunset 7th September 2019